Sudden, unannounced late night GWML closure

[Watershed]

I've seen that a portion of the GWML has suddenly been closed for "emergency track repairs". Services are showing as being removed from the timetable at short notice (VCN in RTT).

The Heathrow Express live status page shows this, but doesn't suggest there is any ticket acceptance, let alone give any advice on the alternative transport they refer to:


The TfL live status page for the Elizabeth line only shows the planned reduction in frequency as a result of the usual Sunday 2-track railway. It doesn't say anything about the sudden closure:


Clearly there isn't a complete closure of the GWML as GWR services to/from Paddington are still running (subject to the usual Sunday driver shortages, of course). So what exactly has been closed - is it just the Heathrow branch?

Why has this happened with little to no prior notice, and a complete lack of information on the TfL live status page? Why is there no ticket acceptance or replacement bus service in operation? Not all journeys are adequately served by the Tube or service buses.

Many Heathrow shift workers, and a good number of airline passengers, rely on the last trains of the day. It's unacceptable to simply strand them, but this seems to be becoming increasingly common in my experience of using Heathrow.

I'm lucky not to be stranded tonight myself, but that's only because my flight arrived considerably early. Had it arrived on time, I may have had a problem...

To add insult to injury, increases of up to 16% have come into effect today for many TfL-rate journeys that avoid Zone 1...

 

[sh24]

Traksy shows a possession block for the Heathrow branch only, so that does at least explain why GWR are unaffected

 

[Belperpete]

Why has this happened with little to no prior notice, and a complete lack of information on the TfL live status page? Why is there no ticket acceptance or replacement bus service in operation? Not all journeys are adequately served by the Tube or service buses.

Be realistic. It is very difficult to plan in advance for faults happening. And it takes time to put alternative arrangements into place, and arranging replacement buses late on a Sunday night is likely to be particularly problematic. By the time they eventually arrive, most passengers will likely have given up and made their own arrangements anyway. There are plenty of alternative ways of getting to and from Heathrow, even on a Sunday evening.

TfL's standard response to short notice disruption is to advise passengers to travel by bus or alternative tube or rail services. Which, tbh, is probably the best advice to give, considering the complexity of the network and the considerable variety of journeys that people make in the London area. If they had to list the best option for every likely destination, it would take so long to produce that it would be out of date before they had chance to publish it.

 

[Horizon22]

Heathrow closure only and an extension of a few hours to an existing possession to replace a cracked crossing.

All parties (including “Heathrow shift workers”) knew 2 days in advance and hence alterations were made well in advance.

Ticket acceptance with Buses and Underground so nobody was being stranded.

 

[ess]

Heathrow Airport owns thousands of buses. They could have laid on replacements themselves

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Heathrow Airport owns thousands of buses. They could have laid on replacements themselves

Don’t know that Heathrow own any buses. The vehicles in the purple Heathrow livery seen around the terminal are owned by contractors. Even this fleet will only be in the hundreds at most. They are not just sat around all day, but work long hours. Even if there were some spare the issue could be finding drivers.

 

[AndrewE]

Don’t know that Heathrow own any buses. The vehicles in the purple Heathrow livery seen around the terminal are owned by contractors. Even this fleet will only be in the hundreds at most. They are not just sat around all day, but work long hours. Even if there were some spare the issue could be finding drivers.

and are the buses actually taxed and insured for use on public roads?

 

[Watershed]

Be realistic. It is very difficult to plan in advance for faults happening. And it takes time to put alternative arrangements into place, and arranging replacement buses late on a Sunday night is likely to be particularly problematic.

If there is a fault it obviously needs to be repaired, but based on what @Horizon22 has said above, this clearly isn't a complete job-stopper as it was planned 2 days ahead. So you would expect this to be planned for a time when alternative service provision is possible.

By the time they eventually arrive, most passengers will likely have given up and made their own arrangements anyway.

If it were properly planned then nobody would be waiting.

There are plenty of alternative ways of getting to and from Heathrow, even on a Sunday evening.

What alternative ways are there for getting to the likes of Paddington at midnight on a Sunday night? Of course there are black cabs/Uber, but are TfL/Heathrow Express going to pay for that? You would hope so, if they haven't provided replacement buses.

The last Piccadilly line service to central London is around 23:25, more than half an hour earlier than the usual last train. It won't be possible for everyone to make that.

TfL's standard response to short notice disruption is to advise passengers to travel by bus or alternative tube or rail services. Which, tbh, is probably the best advice to give, considering the complexity of the network and the considerable variety of journeys that people make in the London area. If they had to list the best option for every likely destination, it would take so long to produce that it would be out of date before they had chance to publish it.

That advice wasn't even given. There was nothing on the live status page indicating that services were finishing earlier than usual. People would have just turned up to the stations to find them locked up for the night.

Nobody is expecting them to list every possible alternative on a live status page, but as a minimum, details of ticket acceptance are always shown. That bare minimum wasn't even met here.

Heathrow closure only and an extension of a few hours to an existing possession to replace a cracked crossing.

Thank you for the details.

All parties (including “Heathrow shift workers”) knew 2 days in advance and hence alterations were made well in advance.

Since when is 2 days "well" in advance? I was abroad 2 days ago and had already booked my return flight. No doubt a majority of arriving passengers will have been in a similar position.

Any yet, despite being much more familiar with this kind of occurrence than the average passenger, I knew nothing of this closure until I arrived at Heathrow and happened to check the live departure board for the station. So clearly "all parties" did not know.

Ticket acceptance with Buses and Underground so nobody was being stranded.

Good news - but it would have been nice if they'd actually told people that... And as mentioned above, the last Tube doesn't cover all arrivals. In any sensible, well organised system of public transport a later relief Tube service would be organised.

 

[fgwrich]

To be fair, I noticed the GWML seemed to be acting a little different yesterday. Arrived at Maidenhead in the morning by GWR - Fast Lines closed, everything using the relief lines.
Returned to Taplow in the evening, rail replacement bus provided by TFL (shuttle between Slough and Maidenhead) to Maidenhead, Fast lines open and everything Reading bound stopping on platform 1, London bound using platform 4.

Was there possessions on the fast lines in the morning, and relief lines in the evening?

 

[TFN]

Was there possessions on the fast lines in the morning, and relief lines in the evening?

Possession on Up Relief and Down Main yesterday.

 

[island]

Heathrow Airport owns thousands of buses. They could have laid on replacements themselves

Not sure about that. Most of the buses owned by the airport are airside buses, not taxed for public roads, and if they come out of the secure area require a fingertip search of the bus when they go back through to check nothing's been secreted on board. So it's impracticable.

 

[Horizon22]

Since when is 2 days "well" in advance? I was abroad 2 days ago and had already booked my return flight. No doubt a majority of arriving passengers will have been in a similar position.

Well sure, but if its emergency works, it is just one of those things. The cracked crossing led to a speed restriction and delays and it broke less than a week ago, so anyone who was abroad for 2 weeks wouldn't have even know it was broken, let alone the rectification. There was a risk if it had escalated, the Heathrow branch would be shut. Relatively short-notice engineering works can happen with less than even 24h notice sometimes which of course is frustrating, but not much you can do about it.

Any yet, despite being much more familiar with this kind of occurrence than the average passenger, I knew nothing of this closure until I arrived at Heathrow and happened to check the live departure board for the station. So clearly "all parties" did not know.

Well that is an issue of communications between HAL/HeX and the airport operations then. Not the rail industry.

 

[Watershed]

Well sure, but if its emergency works, it is just one of those things. The cracked crossing led to a speed restriction and delays and it broke less than a week ago, so anyone who was abroad for 2 weeks wouldn't have even know it was broken, let alone the rectification. There was a risk if it had escalated, the Heathrow branch would be shut. Relatively short-notice engineering works can happen with less than even 24h notice sometimes which of course is frustrating, but not much you can do about it.

That's fair enough, but the point remains that 2 days isn't "well" in advance, especially when Heathrow Express are selling tickets months in advance.

Well that is an issue of communications between HAL/HeX and the airport operations then. Not the rail industry.

The rail industry needs to take responsibility for ensuring that any emergency closure is well publicised. Yesterday's closure absolutely wasn't, as set out above. It's no good blaming external parties.

 

[Horizon22]

That's fair enough, but the point remains that 2 days isn't "well" in advance, especially when Heathrow Express are selling tickets months in advance.

What's your alternative? Every TOC sells tickets months in advance. Disruption occurs sometimes.

 

[fgwrich]

Possession on Up Relief and Down Main yesterday.

Explains it then, Cheers. Seems unusual to have a possession on just the inner lines though?

Certainly an odd feeling waiting for a Lizzie Line service on Platform 1 (fast lines) at Maidenhead last night.

 

[Class 170101]

What's your alternative? Every TOC sells tickets months in advance. Disruption occurs sometimes.

Would have been interesting to know the state of the crossing and when NR actually knew about it.

 

[Bald Rick]

If there is a fault it obviously needs to be repaired, but based on what @Horizon22 has said above, this clearly isn't a complete job-stopper as it was planned 2 days ahead. So you would expect this to be planned for a time when alternative service provision is possible.

It could have been a job stopper. Some rail defects are “36hour”, ie must be fixed in that time or job stopped. By special arrangement this can be extended to 48h in certain circumstances. Same applies to ” day” defects.

 

[JordR]

What kind of defects would be not serious enough to close a line immediately but serious enough to close it in 36/48 hours?

 

[Watershed]

What's your alternative? Every TOC sells tickets months in advance. Disruption occurs sometimes.

Well for a start, any late notice closure should be well advertised. That definitely means putting it on the TfL live status page, which didn't happen.

And despite having both a Heathrow Express and TfL account and the apps for both, I didn't receive any email or notification. Sure, there is some difficulty in saying when a closure is significant enough to warrant informing someone proactively (without necessarily knowing they're travelling) but there should at least be the option to sign up for alerts for a particular date; I don't think there currently is.

And when the disruption does happen, they should do a much better job of publicising the disruption at the airport, well before you get to the station. There was nothing at all warning people about the closure at the HX ticket machines in the baggage hall, so people could have merrily bought tickets for an impossible journey.

Nor was there any kind of signage or warning in the landside Arrivals area, which could have helped people make informed decisions about whether to take a taxi instead for example (which in the case of T2 and T3 is, AIUI only possible from the terminal itself, not the station). That means some people would have ended up walking all the way to the station before realising there are no trains, before returning whence they just came...

Overall the communication was managed very poorly from the perspective of an arriving passenger. The only place I could actually see what was going on was on RTT and the Heathrow Express website, but how many people are even going to know those links, or think to proactively check them?

It could have been a job stopper. Some rail defects are “36hour”, ie must be fixed in that time or job stopped. By special arrangement this can be extended to 48h in certain circumstances. Same applies to ” day” defects.

A fair point. That still gives a fairly broad window of opportunity for the closure. The chosen window was probably less disruptive in terms of the number of passengers affected, but the time of day meant that the resultant delay and inconvenience for impacted passengers would have been much greater.

You would have thought that HX/XR would have contingency plans for this sort of scenario. If that's the case, it certainly wasn't very obvious to me.

 

[Horizon22]

What kind of defects would be not serious enough to close a line immediately but serious enough to close it in 36/48 hours?

Various cracks in points / trackwork that necessitate speed restrictions but can worsen over time is one (as was the case here). Network Rail classify defects based on the inspection required and/or the time allowed until rectification or emergency speed restrictions which can be very slow.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2025 ==

Well for a start, any late notice closure should be well advertised. That definitely means putting it on the TfL live status page, which didn't happen.

And despite having both a Heathrow Express and TfL account and the apps for both, I didn't receive any email or notification. Sure, there is some difficulty in saying when a closure is significant enough to warrant informing someone proactively (without necessarily knowing they're travelling) but there should at least be the option to sign up for alerts for a particular date; I don't think there currently is.

And when the disruption does happen, they should do a much better job of publicising the disruption at the airport, well before you get to the station. There was nothing at all warning people about the closure at the HX ticket machines in the baggage hall, so people could have merrily bought tickets for an impossible journey.

Nor was there any kind of signage or warnung in the landside Arrivals area, which could have helped people make informed decisions about whether to take a taxi instead for example.

Again, you are mostly talking about what Heathrow Airport and HAL are advertising. They were absoloutely able to do almost all these things, if they so wished. Of course unable to comment on staffing at the terminals and what was being advised (I imagine sending people to the Piccadilly line?)

You would have thought that HX/XR would have contingency plans for this sort of scenario. If that's the case, it certainly wasn't very obvious to me.

Sure - the contingency is to start/terminate trains at West Drayton, Hayes and Harlington or Paddington for the Elizabeth line for a full closure. For HEX as there are no intermediate stops, the service is suspended. This is exactly what happened.

 

[Watershed]

Again, you are talking about what Heathrow Airport and HAL are advertising. They were absoloutely able to do almost all these things, if they so wished. Of course unable to comment on staffing at the terminals and what was being advised (I imagine sending people to the Piccadilly line?)

Well no, it's really about what HX should be doing. They are the ones who own the ticket machines and who employ the ticket selling staff in the terminals.

And there shouldn't be an artificial division between HX and XR here either; both operate to the airport on the same tracks from the same stations, so they should work together when it comes to major disruption like this.

Sure - the contingency is to start/terminate trains at West Drayton, Hayes and Harlington or Paddington for the Elizabeth line for a full closure. For HEX as there are no intermediate stops, the service is suspended. This is exactly what happened.

I meant more in terms of alternative transport. And even that contingency wasn't at all publicised anywhere; people were just expected to work it out for themselves.

 

[Horizon22]

Well no, it's really about what HX should be doing. They are the ones who own the ticket machines and who employ the ticket selling staff in the terminals.

There’s a lot of interchangeability between Heathrow Express and HAL hence why I said it.

And there shouldn't be an artificial division between HX and XR here either; both operate to the airport on the same tracks from the same stations, so they should work together when it comes to major disruption like this.

Clearly you don’t have much experience of how Heathrow Express operates! They like to act like they’re the only gig in town. Particularly odd when they own the infrastructure but they still contract Network Rail to come and fix it.

 

[DanNCL]

Heathrow Airport owns thousands of buses. They could have laid on replacements themselves

There are around 150 buses at Heathrow Airport. These are owned by two companies, Transdev and British Airways.
These vehicles are well utilised. The Transdev vehicles provide all of the airside terminal transfer shuttles (T2-T4, T3-T4, T5-T2, T5-T3 and T5-T4), as well as the remote stand aircraft-terminal transfers for Terminals 2, 3 and 4. The British Airways fleet provide the remote stand aircraft-terminal transfers at Terminal 5 as well as a number of staff shuttles.
Despite the size of the fleet there’s still not enough of them and it’s not unheard of for people to be stuck on aircraft at remote stands waiting to get off because there’s no buses available to do the transfer to the terminal, you need at least three buses for a typical narrow body aircraft, more for a wide body. There’s definitely not any spare capacity for rail replacements to Hayes & Harlington station in either of these fleets.

That said, it in theory should be possible for Heathrow to expand the contract with Transdev to include vehicles for rail replacements when the Heathrow Express isn’t running. But as things stand that isn’t the case and therefore the Heathrow bus fleet isn’t large enough to cover it.

and are the buses actually taxed and insured for use on public roads?

The British Airways vehicles certainly used to be taxed as they were at one point used on shuttles to their head office in Harmondsworth. Whether that’s still the case or not I’m not sure.

 

[Watershed]

Clearly you don’t have much experience of how Heathrow Express operates! They like to act like they’re the only gig in town. Particularly odd when they own the infrastructure but they still contract Network Rail to come and fix it.

That is something for XR/TfL to take up at a higher level with HAL then, not to simply accept as a 'fact of life'. And even if that turns out to be a fruitless effort, nothing is stopping TfL from putting some of their own staff outside the National Rail stations to help passengers.

At the moment the impression that you get as a passenger is that nobody cares. In fairness, that's probably not far off the truth...

 

[Horizon22]

That is something for XR/TfL to take up at a higher level with HAL then, not to simply accept as a 'fact of life'. And even if that turns out to be a fruitless effort, nothing is stopping TfL from putting some of their own staff outside the National Rail stations to help passengers.

At the moment the impression that you get as a passenger is that nobody cares. In fairness, that's probably not far off the truth...

Pretty sure this already comes from “higher levels”.

There used to be TfL staff at Heathrow terminals, but they were all removed as there was no agreement for continuation (staff are already at “Network Rail stations” until last train). Ultimately Heathrow are the station operator and the infrastructure owner, and so they have ultimate control over what happens, which may not be passenger-focussed all the time.

 

[dvboy]

Using the Elizabeth line on Saturday and Sunday, there were announcements at Custom House station, presumably others also

 

[Watershed]

Using the Elizabeth line on Saturday and Sunday, there were announcements at Custom House station, presumably others also

Not much use if you are already abroad at that point. Had they planned the closure even slightly earlier I would have heard the announcement, of course. Surely a weekend away can't be that uncommon?

 

[Horizon22]

Not much use if you are already abroad at that point. Had they planned the closure even slightly earlier I would have heard the announcement, of course. Surely a weekend away can't be that uncommon?

As I said earlier, the fault was only found a few days before rectification. Consulting with operators on the impact and extending possessions takes a non-zero amount of time. There's practically nothing you can do about people already abroad. Information was provided when it was known.

I really don't know what the answer is here because you seem to think all parties were incompetent in their information delivery regardless. So best to agree to disagree I believe.

 

[Watershed]

I'm just surprised that you don't seem to think it should have been shown on the TfL live status page? That seems a very basic omission.

Beyond that, I've set out plenty of options above to improve the situation for passengers. None of them were taken up. So yes, I think that all parties concerned did a very poor job here. The railway should hold itself to much higher standards. It's absolutely possible; I've seen much better even in Britain, let alone abroad.

 

[Belperpete]

I'm just surprised that you don't seem to think it should have been shown on the TfL live status page? That seems a very basic omission.

Beyond that, I've set out plenty of options above to improve the situation for passengers. None of them were taken up. So yes, I think that all parties concerned did a very poor job here. The railway should hold itself to much higher standards. It's absolutely possible; I've seen much better even in Britain, let alone abroad.

I think most people would agree with you that it should have been shown on the TfL live status page. Was the originally planned closure shown? And just its extension for an extra two hours omitted?

However, you keep banging on about how they should have warned you before you left of a problem that only arose after you had left, which is clearly unrealistic.